The present invention pertains to hinges, and in particular to a recessed hinge for use with large panels.
Modern vehicles and the like often utilize hinged panels such as hoods to aesthetically cover large areas while still providing access thereto. Often the pivotable joint of the hinge is recessed to increase aesthetics and also to provide a secure point of attachment. This necessarily means that the hinge includes an elongate hinge arm that extends from the recessed pivotable joint to the panel.
In the case of an enlarged panel such as a hood, these elongate hinge arms must be strong enough to stably support the weight of the hood, but must be made of a material that is light weight so as to minimize overall vehicular weight and that is readily manufacturable so as to minimize part cost. Further, the hinge arm must stabilize the hood so that the hood does not move laterally and damagingly strike a fender as the hood is closed. Still further, the hinge arm must be shaped to avoid interferences such as engine parts while still providing optimal structural strength, dimensional consistency and manufacturability. Notably, the functional requirements in the hood area are more stringent than, for example, in the trunk area due to the size of the hood panel, the visibility of the hood to a person sitting in or entering the vehicle, the amount of interferences in the engine compartment that must be avoided, and the limited space available in the engine compartment.
Manufacturers have attempted to solve these problems by providing a stamped hinge arm with stiffening flanges formed thereon and brackets welded thereto. However, this results in the hinge arms being heavy and expensive due to the thickness of metal required for proper stiffness. Further, the brackets require subsequent expensive welding operations. Additionally, the stamped hinge arms often lack the desired level of stiffness to prevent the hood from swaying laterally into one of fenders as the hood is closed. This is a problem both during assembly of the vehicle as well as during service of the vehicle.
Also desirable is a hinge arm that reduces the need for secondary parts such as grounding wires or wiring routing clips.
Thus, a hinge arm is needed that solves the above problems by providing an article that can be readily manufactured, has a high strength to weight ratio, and can reduce the need for secondary parts.